Actor John Krasinski, a cast member in the motion picture sport comedy "Leatherheads" attends the premiere of the film at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on March 31, 2008. (UPI Photo/Jim Ruymen)

John Burke Krasinski (pronounced /krəˈzɪnski/; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor, film director and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office. He has also appeared in several films including Away We Go, Leatherheads, License to Wed and It's Complicated.

Krasinski was born in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb outside of Boston, the son of a Polish-American father, internist Dr. Ronald Krasinski, and an Irish-American mother, Mary Clare (née Doyle). He has two older brothers, Kevin and Paul, and was raised Roman Catholic in Newton. Krasinski was friends with his Office costar, B.J. Novak, while growing up in Newton.

Before entering college, Krasinski taught English in Costa Rica. From there, he went to Brown University, studying theatre arts with Lowry Marshall and John Emigh, and graduating in 2001 as a playwright with an honors thesis titled "Contents Under Pressure". During his time at Brown, he helped coach youth basketball at The Gordon School in East Providence, Rhode Island. He then attended the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut.

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